After last year’s 53-win Portland Trail Blazers made the deepest playoff run since Rasheed Wallace and Scottie Pippen nearly upset the Kobe-Shaq Lakers, the Blazers hoped to parlay 2019’s success into another late playoff finish. When the NBA announced its suspension, however, the Blazers were uncomfortably three-and-a-half games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the final playoff spot. With only 16 games left in the regular season, the Blazers were on pace to finish the season out of the playoffs with a 36-46 record. That mark would have been the team’s worst record since star Damian Lillard’s rookie season.
Early Injuries Derail Season
One can attribute part of the team’s poor play this season to free-agency losses. Relinquishing defensive wing Al-Farouq Aminu, sharpshooter Seth Curry, and dynamic post scorer Enes Kanter hurt. However, the more obvious cause has been injuries affecting the Blazers’ versatile frontcourt. Portland compensated for the injury of Jusuf Nurkic. (He suffered a compound fracture at the end of last year, and Portland didn’t expect him to return until late in the season.) The Blazers traded away Meyers Leonard and Maurice Harkless for the Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside. The team did not expect, however, to lose Zach Collins only three games into the season and Rodney Hood two months later.
The Blazers anticipated Collins, entering his third year, to play significant minutes. They hoped his increased role would translate into increased offensive production. Lamentably, Collins dislocated his shoulder late in the third game of the season. He underwent shoulder surgery and has not played since. Similarly, the Blazers re-signed Hood to a two-year extension. Unfortunately, he tore his left Achilles on December 6. During his 21 games, Hood averaged 11 points and was shooting an efficient 50.6% from the floor and an electric 49.3% from three-point range.
Zach Collins leaves game with left shoulder injury#ripcity pic.twitter.com/siIj4s3FGR
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) October 28, 2019
Chemistry Missing
With Collins out, and Hood missing a few games with back spams before tearing his Achilles, the Blazers signed free agent Carmelo Anthony on November 19, 2019. The team was 5-10 at the time and in desperate need of frontcourt depth. So much so, that Anthony went from unsigned free agent to immediate starter playing 32 minutes a game. Anthony has played well in his role, averaging 15.3 points (on a pedestrian 42.6%) and 6.3 rebounds a game.
With the new additions and unexpected injuries, it is no surprise that the Blazers did not have the same chemistry as last year’s team. Portland fought back from a rough, 5-12 start. They rallied nearly back to .500 with a 9-4 run mainly fueled by weak opponents. The Blazers then faltered with five straight losses to close out the year, including a particularly dreadful, 11-point, 5-of-20 shooting game from Lillard on New Year’s Day against the Knicks.
Lillard’s Blistering January
Perhaps embarrassed by such a poor showing, possibly fueled by a New Year’s resolution, or maybe just tired of losing, Lillard went on a rampage in January. He lighted up the league and set numerous franchise records, including breaking his career-high single-game record with 61 against Golden State on January 20. Excluding January 1, Lillard scored 35.7 points a game on a sizzling 50% shooting, including an incredible 46.8% from three while shooting 11 threes per game, dished out 8.4 assists per game, and averaged 4.8 rebounds.
During his run, Lillard became the first player in Blazer history to score 500 points in a calendar month. He became the first Blazer to score 40-plus points in three-straight games and the first one to score 30-plus points in seven straight games. Lillard also had a blistering eight-game stretch where he averaged 45.1 points (on 53% FG% and 52.8% 3P% while shooting 13.5 threes per game), 9.6 assists, and 5.5 rebounds. During these eight games, the Blazers went 6-2. Unfortunately, Lillard suffered a groin injury on February 12, just before the All-Star break. He missed six games, and the Blazers went 2-4. Lillard returned to play on March 4. However, he only played in four games before the league shut down.
NBA Season Restart: Blazers’ Season Reset
In one sense, the unprecedented stoppage in play and the NBA’s return-to-play format has been an unexpected boon to the Blazers. The four-month layoff allowed big men Nurkic and Collins time to heal. Both should play when the league starts up again on July 30. The association also announced that any tiebreakers would be decided first by a team’s win percentage. Because the Blazers have played more games than the Pelicans, Kings, Spurs, and Suns, each of those teams must have one more win to jump Portland in the standings, as the Blazers would win any tiebreaker.
Unfortunately, the return-to-play scenario has also presented challenges unique to the Blazers. They may have one of the more difficult schedules of the remaining contenders. (The Pelicans might have one of the least challenging paths). Trevor Ariza, an essential January addition and main defensive wing, announced that he would opt-out. (So he can commit to a one-month visitation window with his son.)
Playoff Hope And Challenges
Finally, while Whiteside and Anthony have admirably filled out a thin frontcourt, the return of both injured big men creates an issue. How to handle allocating minutes amongst the now crowded frontcourt? Whiteside and Nurkic occupy the same role. They both play as a central anchor on the defense rather than guarding the perimeter. While Nurkic has a decent mid-range shot, neither Whiteside nor Nurkic space the floor with three-point shooting. Therefore, it is hard to imagine both big men playing together at the same time. Perhaps coach Terry Stotts can figure out a workable rotation, but with only eight regular-season games remaining, there may not be enough time.
We’ll have to wait and see if the Blazers can end an otherwise disappointing season with a playoff run. In the meantime, remember to practice social distancing like Logo Lillard:
social distancing @dame_lillard 👀 pic.twitter.com/snB2tUXTv7
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 22, 2020
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